1. The mother had a prison sentence to serve in CA for abusing her older dau. The older dau was @ 6 at the time of the physical abuse.

2. The mother gave birth to little Jhessye. The baby was given to relatives to be cared for until mother got out of prison.

3. The older children were all kept together and given to a different relative than Jhessye.

4. The mother had requested ALL her children be reunited with her. This was done. There were 7 children at that time.

5. Jhessye had only been with her birth mother @ 1 year before she was murdered. (Of note: she was @ the same age the older sib was when the older girl was physically abused leading to the mother's prison sentencing.) All the smiling pics were taken when Jhessye was in the care of the relative.

6. Media black out: This is being done to protect the children who will be testifying against their mother as they are all under the age of 18 and still in school. The oldest child, a dau, has given PD info re Jhessye being locked in the closet and the older child sneaking food and water to her for @ one week. And then, going to the closet and discovering her sister was not there. That was the day the mother reported her missing.

Another family members confirms Jhessye Shockley was abused and tried to get CPS involved. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153810204184546&l=3162636375545661798 … #JericeHunter0 retweets 2 favorites

The cousin of a Glendale woman accused of murdering her 5-year-old daughter, Jhessye Shockley, told a jury that Jerice Hunter had "no connection" to Jhessye Shockley, in part because Hunter was serving a prison term during the girl's formative years.

Lisa Vance, Hunter's first cousin, addressed the court as Hunter's murder trial entered its second week and told jurors that Hunter didn't possess a maternal bond with her youngest child at the time of the girl's disappearance in October 2011.

Vance, along with two other relatives raised Jhessye for more than four years while Hunter served time in prison a California prison for abusing her older children.

Testimony in the murder trial against Jerice Hunter continued Wednesday, sparking emotions to run wild in the courtroom.

Hunter, who is accused of murdering her then-5-year-old daughter Jhessye Shockley, broke down in court for the first time today during the afternoon break.

Hunter started crying loudly after speaking with her attorney during the intermission.

Today would have been Shockley's 9th birthday.

Legal analyst Monica Lindstrom said the prosecution will have a tough time proving a murder with little evidence.

"It's really hard to prove a murder case when there's no body," Lindstrom said in an interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM's Mac and Gaydos. "It's all circumstantial evidence. There's no direct evidence like a video, or a bloody knife or an eyewitness who saw the murder itself, so it's all circumstantial."

I think the jury in this case is going to be able to connect the dots. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence to deduce that Jhessye Shockley is dead and that her mother is responsible for her demise.

Last edited by Alessandra_Deux on Thu Apr 02, 2015 8:30 am; edited 1 time in total

Lisa Vance says she went in to shock and drove over to #JericeHunter's apartment complex. She gave police pictures of Jhessye.0 retweets 2 favoritesTammy Rose ‏@News20Chopper 9h9 hours ago

Lisa Vance was home when she found out Jhessye was reported missing. #JericeHunter0 retweets 2 favoritesTammy Rose ‏@News20Chopper 9h9 hours ago

Lisa Vance says #JericeHunter was smoking cigarette after cigarette & was talking about what she was going to do for her birthday on Oct. 130 retweets 2 favoritesTammy Rose ‏@News20Chopper 9h9 hours ago

I have a real hard time with this case. I am so revolted with how this "mother" has traumatized her children in the past with direct abuse to them and then having them see the abuse to this little one. I want to yell and throw things, I want to throw up, I want to turn back the hands of the clock so this little girl and her siblings will be safe from this very, very evil person.

The "mother" KNEW what she was doing was wrong.That is why she REPEATEDLY lied to the school as to why Jhesse was not in attendance.That is why she lied to the neighbor woman.That is why she lied to the police and filed a missing person's report.That is why she removed her child's body from the home.That is why she BLAMED her oldest child for lack of responsibility...She knew what she was doing and that it would leave evidence pointing right back to her... so she lied.

I would be okay IF she had taken her own life and left the others alone.For heaven's sake, she BEGGED to have the child back.The child was happy without her.Apparently, the "mother" just had to take her revenge against a child out on the child.

I would think the child so desperately missed the very people who had raised her from birth....What a cruel system it is to give this child to a person she did not know and had no bonding with. What hell is made of...

Yes, I agree with all that you have written. This case makes me beyond angry. Poor little Jhessye must have been so confused and in so much emotional and physical pain. What the heck is wrong with Jerice Hunter's relatives/parents that show up everyday to support her and insist that she is innocent? Can't they see that she is very capable of the crime that she is charged with? And, JH continues to have more children. WHY?

I can't tell you anything about her, other than it was a her. Judge Rosa Mroz ordered the witness' identity protected, the cameras set to record audio only. What I can tell you is what she saw:

Jhessye Shockley, 5, in a closet. "Black stuff" coming out of her eyes. Not able to walk to the bathroom, her small body covered in bruises.

She saw Jhessye a few days before she was reported missing in October, 2011. She never saw her again. She said Jerice Hunter told her to lie, told her to say Jhessye was sick and couldn't be seen because she was sick and didn't want to get others sick.

And I can tell you she believes Jhessye's death, the abuse, the cover-up, all of it ... is her fault.

"We wouldn't be in this position if I hadn't made (Jerice Hunter) mad," she said. "It's my fault because I made (her) mad."

Even the very worst the state of Arizona can give Jerice Hunter is sooo much better than what she chose to give her precious little 5 year-old daughter, Jhessye Shockley.

If JH is convicted and is sentenced to LWOP at Perryville she will receive a small room (cell) with a thin mattress and a sink and toilet. Jhessye had to lay on a hard floor at the bottom of a dark closet. She did not have access to a sink or even a toilet

JH will receive medical care if she is sick or injured. Jhessye was forced to suffer through injuries and illness at the bottom of that dark closet. JH would not get Jhessye any medical attention because JH knew that she would be exposed as a child abuser if anyone were to see Jhessye's condition.

JH will receive three balanced meals per day and whatever extra goodies she is able to buy with her canteen. Poor little Jhessye was not only sick and injured, but was starving to death as well. Her little body had no chance at healing as she lay in the dark enduring the pain of hunger to go along with all of the other pain.

JH will have social contacts/friends among the prison population. These are people that she can talk to and that can comfort her when things seem tough. She may even get visitors on occasion. Jhessye had no one to comfort her, to make her feel better, or to even help her understand what was happening to her, or give her hope that things might get better. She was alone and in great emotional pain. JH did not care to hear her cry and did not care to see her tears, JH did not care to see the damage that had been inflicted upon Jhessye...so, she put her in a closet...for weeks.

Even in the end, JH will be carried out in a pine box and given a proper burial. Her family can take control of JH's body and plan any kind of service they choose. They can mark JH's grave in acknowledgment of her life here on Earth. Not so for Jhessye, not even close. Jerice Hunter buried beautiful little Jhessye in a suitcase in a garbage dump. Jhessye is buried nameless. Her grave is not marked. Her grave is an old, beat-up suitcase that is buried under hundreds of feet of dirty, rotten , stinking garbage.

I apologize for the rant, but I am so, so angry at Jerice Hunter. Jhessye deserved so much better. This didn't have to happen. JH could have left Jhessye with the relative that was already providing a happy home for her.

Clearly, a life sentence at the hell that is Perryville is still much better than being the daughter of Jerice Hunter. Such a heartless woman...just evil!

The way I was raised, forgiveness MAY be given but it is not automatic.It is given when another person requests it of you.They need to identify and say exactly what it is they want to be forgiven for.("Mom. I ate all the dessert you had made for supper. Would you forgive me if I did penance by washing the dishes after supper?")

Since the bio "mother" has NOT asked to be forgiven for ANYTHING, I find it hard to believe she desires to be accountable or to be forgiven. Do not throw pearls before the swine...Do not waste the blessings upon someone who is unrepentant.

I am good! IF this parent feels she is in hell, let her express her remorse before the court.

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - The Jerice Hunter murder trial continued Monday, and more key witnesses took the stand.

Among them was an ex-lover of Hunter's who talked about the last time she saw Jhessye Shockley alive.

A neighbor also testified; she said she drove Hunter to drop off a bag in a dumpster. Police believe the 5-year-old was in that bag.

Hunter told the neighbor she needed money to pay rent. She asked her to drive to Tempe to drop off some clothes she sold for money.

"(She) just put everything needed in the trash," said the neighbor.

One of Hunter's neighbors told the jury about the day that Hunter asked her for a ride to Tempe to drop off a duffle bag. But instead of giving that bag to a person, Hunter threw the bag in a trash can.

Abdeldgir testified Hunter loaded a big suitcase into her trunk, then dumped it into a Tempe dumpster while wearing gloves.

Prosecutors hope the jurors can connect the dots to this.

"The only thing that concerns me is you guys that when you asked me to identify items found in that thing there was one suitcase that was missing and you guys have been hounding me ever since about a suitcase," said Andrea Thomas.

Thomas is Hunter's ex-girlfriend. She stayed with Hunter for a few days in May of 2011, but left without her bags. She testified she never got those bags back . Investigators allege that suitcase was where Hunter put Jhessye Shockley's lifeless body before dumping it in the trash.

Thomas also shed some light on how she saw Hunter treat the little girl before she disappeared.

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - The Jerice Hunter murder trial continued Monday, and more key witnesses took the stand.

Among them was an ex-lover of Hunter's who talked about the last time she saw Jhessye Shockley alive.

A neighbor also testified; she said she drove Hunter to drop off a bag in a dumpster. Police believe the 5-year-old was in that bag.

Hunter told the neighbor she needed money to pay rent. She asked her to drive to Tempe to drop off some clothes she sold for money.

"(She) just put everything needed in the trash," said the neighbor.

One of Hunter's neighbors told the jury about the day that Hunter asked her for a ride to Tempe to drop off a duffle bag. But instead of giving that bag to a person, Hunter threw the bag in a trash can.

For some reason, the tweets today came out of order (these came in after state rested):

Tammy Rose retweetedElizabeth Erwin ‏@elizabetherwin 7h7 hours ago

Merena says when he examined top layer of bottom side of trunk liner there was blood from 2 people but not from Jhessye's fam.#JericeHunter2 retweets 6 favoritesTammy Rose retweetedElizabeth Erwin ‏@elizabetherwin 7h7 hours ago

For some weird reason this story is not allowing me to copy/paste any parts of the article.

Anyway, click on the link. The defense only called two witnesses. One couldn't remember and did not want to be there. The other tells a strange story about a crying child, possible abduction, and being personally threatened for telling her story.

~snipped~PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) - Both sides have rested their case in the murder trial of Jerice Hunter, the Valley mom accused of abuse and murder in the disappearance of her 5-year-old daughter Jhessye Shockley in October 2011.

The prosecution's case stretched over three weeks and included more than 15 witnesses. The state believe Hunter abused Jhessye to the point of death, then disposed of her body in a trash bin.

No trace of the little girl has ever been found, even after an exhaustive landfill search.

When it came time for the defense to present its case Wednesday, Hunter's attorney Candice Shoemaker called only two witnesses to the stand. The defense used the witnesses to present the alternate possibility that Jhessye was kidnapped and not murdered...

...Closing arguments are set for Monday morning. Then the case will be turned over to the jury.

There are 12 people I don't envy this week. They are the 12 who sit in judgment of Jerice Hunter.

Hunter is mother of Jhessye Shockley, the 5 year old who hasn't been seen since October 2011.

According to Hunter, the girl just disappeared one day while she was out doing errands.

It didn't take long for Hunter's criminal record to surface – she spent most of Jhessye's life in prison for abusing an older daughter – or for suspicion to turn to Hunter, once her other children were in foster care and started talking.

The evidence looks damning but there is just one problem.

There is no proof that Jhessye is dead. It's believed that her body lies in a landfill, tossed away like yesterday's trash. Despite a four-month search, her body was never found.

~snipped~...Closing arguments in Hunter's child-abuse and first-degree-murder trial lasted all day Monday. Hunter, who has maintained her innocence since long before a grand jury indicted her in 2012, faces 35 years to life in prison if convicted of killing the 5-year-old girl...

~snipped~...Prosecutor Blaine Gadow spoke for the rest of the morning session before giving way to defense attorney Candice Shoemaker. After Shoemaker spoke for nearly two hours, prosecutor Jeannette Gallagher urged jurors not to reward Hunter for making Jhessye's dead body disappear."She disposed of the evidence and tried to erase her little girl from existence," Gadow said...

~snipped~...Gadow accused Hunter of victimizing another daughter by blaming her for not keeping an eye on Jhessye. The girl had testified about finding Jhessye battered and barely able to walk inside Hunter's closet, but she also said she blamed herself that Jhessye was gone.

"This defendant's plan all along was to lay that disappearance on her daughter's back," Gadow said...